Sponsor-a-day

The chimps’ dear friend, Meg Lunnum, sponsored today in honor of some new friends of hers!

“I would like to honor my new chimpanzee friends from the Tulsa Zoo, Suzy, Morris, Hope, Vindi, Bernsen, 5 year old Enloe and Jodi. The day I visited, it looked like they didn’t like kale very much but were having lots of fun with shredded sisal packing material. Based on the accommodations for the Cle Elem Seven, I always try to see if chimpanzees at zoos I visit are happy.”

Meg, thank you so much for looking out for chimpanzees everywhere and for introducing us to these lovely people. Enloe and his mama, Jodi, are awfully sweet. It makes us so happy to know that you hold the the chimps’ lives here as an example of joy and well-being. We’re grateful to you for helping to ensure that for them. We certainly hope for all animals, in captivity and the wild, to experience such things in their lives.

This special day was sponsored by Jamie Ferguson in honor of her mother, Lynda Ferguson! Jamie shared this beautiful message for her mother:

“What better day than Mother’s Day to honor and celebrate the woman who instilled in me my love for animals and passion for animal welfare? My mom, Lynda Ferguson, has always loved animals and it’s because of her that I grew up respecting and loving them too. While she loves all animals, she absolutely adores the chimps of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and she delights in seeing the photos and videos you post each day about their adventures. She introduced me to the chimps as well and, of course, I fell in love with them too. Happy Mother’s Day, Lynda Ferguson! Thank you for sharing with me your love for animals and for truly being the most loving, selfless and generous mom anyone could every ask for and for being my best friend. I love you!”

Jamie, thank you for honoring your mother in such a gracious way and adding even further to the chimpanzees’ lives. We’re so thrilled knowing how much they mean to you both.

Happy Mother’s Day, Lynda! Thank you for loving the chimps and for the difference you make in the world for so many by sending that love through your heart and your daughter.

Mother’s day is a very special day here at the sanctuary. Annie, Foxie, Jody, Missy and Negra are each mothers and we honor them and their children today, as well as each of the chimpanzees and the childhoods they themselves lost. Mother’s Day is also the day we chose to celebrate Jody and her official-unofficial birthday and as such, Jody is 44 today! Jody is the self-appointed “mother hen” of the group, always ensuring that everyone is safe, present and accounted for.

Jody and Foxie:

Who doesn’t wish they had a turtle pool to relax in?

When she’s not rounding up her family members or luxuriating in one of her creative nests, she finds time to maintain her title of Queen of Foraging:

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone celebrating today! We celebrate and honor all the many nurturing, supportive and loving forms which mothering comes in and wish you each a beautiful day.

And Happy Birthday, Jody!! We love you so very much! Everyone tune in later today to see the celebration. 🙂

It’s that time of year again! It’s Love a Chimpanzee Day! As a way to celebrate how amazing chimpanzee people are (and her own special day!), our incredible friend, Monica Best, has designated this official “Love a Chimpanzee Day” and sponsors this day of sanctuary each year!

Monica, thank you so much for every single thing that you do to make sure the chimpanzees lives are filled with all the joy and hope possible. We’re so lucky to have you in our chimp family! You’re a light in the world for so many animals and an inspiration to so many humans. We all hope you have as beautiful a day as you help make possible for so many beings.

We also received an additional gift donation in honor of Monica from her mother, Linda Miller, with this sweet note:

“In honor of my wonderful daughter, Monica Best, as she sponsors her special birthday day on April 23rd.”

Thank you, Linda, for making certain that Monica is celebrated on this day as well! We truly appreciate the love you both bring to the chimps’ lives for all of us to share in.

Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day, everyone! The chimps are going to be enjoying a day of each of their favorite foods and as always, surrounded by so much love, thanks to all of you.

The truth about running a nonprofit animal sanctuary is that most of your time is spent interacting with humans.

I get that this might not sound all that appealing to everyone who is interested in embarking on a career in the sanctuary or animal protection field. Let’s face it, a lot of “animal people” feel strong connections to non-human animals, while feeling some disdain, awkwardness, or unease around their own human species.

Something I learned early on that seems to get reinforced more strongly each day, however, is that people who are drawn to help sanctuaries are some of the very best examples of the human species.

In eleven years, you can imagine that we’ve met a whole lot of (human) people in the form of volunteers, donors, staff members, students, and other supporters. We get to know people and we become aware of both the joys and the hardships that people face in their lives. I often find myself thinking and worrying about humans that are connected to the sanctuary far more than the chimpanzees.

Through our Sponsor-a-Day and Personalized Stones donation programs, we’ve also been introduced to the important human and non-human people in the lives of supporters, often after these influential people have already passed away.

It’s an incredible honor to be able to honor people.

When someone very close to the sanctuary passes away, though, I feel at a loss as to how to appropriately honor them.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and the world, recently lost an incredible man. Introduced to the sanctuary by his wife and CSNW volunteer, Jen, James Douglas was a long-serving board member who led CSNW through many transitions. He was full of optimism and positivity, even when faced with difficult situations. He was kind and generous. He was a natural leader. He was a friend and a mentor.

Although the sanctuary was a small part of his life, and he leaves behind many, many people who were changed by his life and affected by his loss, he played an outsized role in the relatively short life of the sanctuary. He meant a lot to us personally as well as to the development of the organization.

I plan to honor the legacy that he left behind at CSNW by working even harder to carry out the plans for the future that James helped to craft and to attempt to approach life and work with even just a small amount of the curiosity, joyfulness, and hope that he exemplified. The same qualities that I see in the chimpanzees.

We began today with a double Sponsor-a-Day of sanctuary which turned into a triple Sponsor-a-Day! How amazing that these seven chimpanzees are held in the hearts of so many humans as they celebrate and honor the special times and loved ones in their lives.

Rich and Lisa Stuverud are long-time friends and supporters of the chimps and Rich sponsored today for Lisa in celebration of her birthday! He shared this touching message about his gift:

“Please accept this in honor of my beautiful wife Lisa on her birthday. She has overcome some severe medical situations this past year and has been inspired in no small way by the incredible personal saga of the furry little group on the hill. She could often be found watching CSNW videos on the YouTube channel during her recovery.”

And then without knowing about her gift to come, Lisa sponsored today in memory of her beloved sister-in-law, Linda Vizzare, in celebration of their shared birthday today. Lisa’s lovely message:

“Well, another year gone by missing my birthday buddy, Linda Vizzare…we shared this day for 36 years until her passing 4 years ago. We also shared the love and admiration for the Cle Elum Seven and all the things the sanctuary provides for them. To see Burrito do his happy dance was her favorite. Their joy with everything sanctuary provides for them continues to inspire…I only wish there was a way for her to see Jamie race the Gator down the backstretch with her joyous clap, stomp and hop take off…she would be so thrilled ! This is the best way to celebrate!”

Rich and Lisa, thank you so much for sharing this special day with the chimpanzees, for always holding them in your hearts, and for all you bring to their lives. Lisa, we hope you have a beautiful day filled with love, joy and the comfort of memories held dear. Happy Birthday, to you and Linda!

And as you said, what better way to celebrate than a replay of Jamie racing the Gator (which she did again this morning!):

We are so fortunate to have two sponsorships for a double day of sanctuary! Our first comes from Kathleen Kemper who sponsored today for Joanna Gabriel and shared this lovely message:

“April 4th is Joanna’s birthday. She has been in love with the Chimpanzees at the Northwest Sanctuary for several years, and is a devoted follower of the daily blogs. Joanna also contributes to the chimps’ enrichment whenever she can. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOANNA!”

Kathleen, thank you so much for celebrating Joanna by including the chimps in her day! We so appreciate you both!

Joanna, we hope you have the best birthday yet! Happiest of days from all of us here at CSNW! And how can you do anything but when looking at this guy:

Today was sponsored by dear friend of the chimpanzees, Arlene, in honor of her husband, Michael, on their anniversary! Arlene shared this very lovely message about her gift:

“Today is our 29th Wedding Anniversary and I would like to sponsor today in honor of my husband. Michael I am blessed to share my life with you. Thank you for all you do for me and so many others, including animals as well as people. Love you always.”

Arlene and Michael, what a gift to celebrate so many years together! Happy Anniversary from all of us here! We’re so fortunate to have you as part of our chimp family and thank you, from our hearts, for helping to provide so many years of family and love for the chimps. Happiest of days to you both!